How did the illiterate Muhammad write the Quran?
- CosDream News

- May 11, 2024
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 5, 2024
The prophet of Islam, Muhammad, founded Islam and the vast Arab Empire, and is also considered the author of the Quran, but interestingly, he himself was illiterate.
So, how can an illiterate person create such a magnificent and revered classic text among millions of Muslim believers?
Muhammad lived around 570-632 AD and was the founder of Islam, considered the last prophet of Allah (Muslims consider Moses and Jesus to be former prophets).
He spread Islam in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century and developed it into a far-reaching global religion.
The Quran is one of the most important scriptures of Islam and is considered the last Bible that Allah transmitted to humanity through Muhammad.
However, the birth of this classic is full of mystery, especially considering that Muhammad himself did not receive formal cultural education and did not even recognize characters.
Muhammad's life is rarely known, especially his early years.
According to traditional Islamic historical records, Muhammad was born in Mecca (now a holy land in the Arab world), his father passed away early, and his mother also passed away quickly, so he was raised by his maternal grandfather and uncle.
It is believed that Muhammad was once a businessman when he was young, but it was not until around the age of 40 that he began to accept Allah's revelation and spread Islam.
Legend has it that the revelation of the Quran began on a mysterious night in 610 AD, when Muhammad was meditating in the Hara Cave in Mecca.
It is said that the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared before him and conveyed the revelation of Allah.
Muhammad was illiterate, so he was unable to directly record these revelations.
However, he remembered these pieces of information from his memory and orally passed them on to his followers.
This oral tradition was very common at that time, especially in the Arabian Peninsula.
In that era, cultural, historical, and religious knowledge was passed down through oral traditions. Therefore, followers of Muhammad listened to the content of the Quran from his mouth, memorized it, and spread it to others.
This oral tradition was organized into written form after the death of Muhammad.
However, this does not mean that the compilation process of the Quran was smooth sailing.
In the era of Muhammad, many Muslims did not fully record the Quran, but remembered some of its contents.
Therefore, after the death of Muhammad, in order to ensure the integrity of the Quran, the first Caliph (the supreme leader of Islamic unity) Abu Bakr ordered Muhammad's secretary Zaid to collect and organize various fragments of the Quran.
Under the leadership of Zaid, these fragments were collected and organized into a complete book, which is what we know today The Quran.
During the Ottoman Empire, in order to maintain consistency in the Quran, Ottoman bin Afana commissioned a group of scholars to proofread and standardize copies of the Quran and spread them throughout the Islamic world.
Therefore, according to Muslim history records, Muhammad himself was not literate, but as a prophet of Islam, he conveyed Allah's revelation to the world through oral traditions and the assistance of his followers.
The process of writing the Quran, although full of challenges, ultimately made it an indispensable part of the lives of Islamic believers and one of the most important cultural heritages in the world.










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